Track Listing

1. Thank God It's Christmas - Queen
2. Please Come Home for Christmas - Pat Benatar
3. 2000 Miles - The Pretenders
4. December Will Be Magic Again - Kate Bush
5. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie, Bing Crosby
6. Winter Wonderland - Cocteau Twins
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Smithereens
8. Run Rudolph Run - Dave Edmunds
9. Christmas Is Coming - The Payola$
10. Fairytale of New York - Kirsty MacColl, The Pogues
11. Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) - The Ramones
12. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64822 in Music
• Released on: 1995-08-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
A middle-of-the-road rock and pop assortment, The Edge of Christmas repackages chestnuts such as Bing and Bowie crooning "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" and Dave Edmunds's version of Chuck Berry's classic "Run Run Rudolph." In between there are marginal readings of "Please Come Home for Christmas" from Pat Benatar, "Winter Wonderland" by the Cocteau Twins, and Queen's "Thank God It's Christmas." The real treasures are the Pretenders' "2,000 Miles," a wistful, tender lament about being away from loved ones during the holidays, and the Waitresses' zesty minor classic "Christmas Wrapping." The scruffiest gem is the Pogues' "Fairytale in New York," with animated vocals traded by Shane MacGowan and Irish folk-rocker Kirsty MacColl. Listening to it is like watching a vitriolic pageant with crooked bells on. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews

My Favorite Christmas CD!
I originally bought this album for the song "Christmas Wrapping", but once I heard the rest of the CD it stayed in the stereo all season. While most of the tracks are traditional, they are done with a twist. The Bowie/Bing song is masterfully done and The Pretenders "2000 Miles" is beautiful and somewhat sad. Although these songs are done by "alternative" artists, The Edge of Christmas isn't so alternative it will scare off mainstream family and friends. And while many of these songs can be found on various albums (as the reviewer below stated), why buy a lot when all you need is one.

Simply My Favorite Christmas CD
If you like modern rock this is the only holiday CD you need. Contrary to 1st review, the Queen song opens the holiday season for us-a classic. More classics with Bowie/Crosby version of Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy. Fun tunes like Smithereens & Waitresses. I even like the Pretenders tune, despite not liking the group in general and Kate Bush song is very relaxing. Probably my favorite tune is surreal Cocteau Twins rendition of Winter Wonderland-mix that with some spiked egg nog and you'll be guaranteed a merry christmas.

For a cooler Christmas.
This is easily one of the better Christmas collections I've seen. Sure I'm a fan of most of the bands, but the songs are really good. Just look at the tracklist. It opens with three tracks from Queen, Pat Benetar, and a superb one from The Pretenders. Then, how cool is it to have Christmas songs from Kate Bush and The Cocteau Twins, not to mention the classic from Bing and Bowie. Also worth a mention are the tracks from The Smithereens, the infamous Ramones, and the must have "Christmas Wrapping" from The Waitresses. The rest is good as well. I also suggest "You Sleigh Me: Alternative Christmas Hits" and "A Very Special Christmas 3".